How to avoid bitcoin scams (for newbies)

[jamesblue1]

Bitcoin is a unique and trendy topic when it comes to mind especially when it comes to profits and earnings that many of us can get. Therefore many
newbies get interested and becomes prone to scammers. So here are some of the tips I learned from my friend that I wish to share:

Tip #1 Fake and imitation wallets and exchanges
To start with, as someone who is new to bitcoin you will have to deposit your money, right? Therefore you must exchange your $$$ to BTCBTCBTC. But how do we deposit w/out being scammed or hacked? Well, for me it's best to use the well-known exchanger. Here are some w/ their own pros and cons:

Coinbase
 + easy to use and set up, gdax is a friendly interface
 + seem to be fewer problems withdrawing money than other exchanges
 - tends to go down during traffic spikes
 - limited to BTC/ETH/LTC
 - randomly shutting down accounts/customer service

Poloniex
 + highest volume for many coin pairs
 - lots of complaints about withdrawing money
 - goes down periodically (went down for 3 days in August)

Bittrex
 + lots of currency pairs
 + reliable, never goes down
 - clunky interface

Kraken
 + seem to be fewer problems withdrawing
 - slow to get verified
 - very slow during peak traffic

Bitfinex
 + nice interface
 - seem to be withdrawing problems
 - customer service
 - no support for USA customers after October 2017

Gemini
 + low fees
 + available in more locations (Washington state, New York)
 - takes long time to register

Liqui
 + easy to use
 - can't withdraw fiat currency
 - seem to be problems withdrawing currency sometimes

Binance
 + good customer service
 + low transfer fees
 + gives gas for neo
 - slow under heavy load

Source: Reddit user lepuma.

Tip #2 Never trust anyone
Someone would probably chat you through various social media. Well, don't trust anyone, it's best to block them ASAP especially when they will teach you how to earn a lot easily. There's no easy money here. And lastly, don’t send money or bitcoin anywhere unless you know exactly who you’re sending it to.

Tip #3 Virus and malware downloads
This is the most common and the most easy way of hacking today when we download applications that contain malware and virus. As always, you shouldn’t click on unknown email attachments or potentially dangerous links.

But there are ways to secure your security even if you have downloaded malware/virus in your PC or phones.
-Use two-factor authentication
-Use a “cold” offline wallet. A “hot” wallet is one that’s connected to the Internet, while a “cold” wallet is one that’s held offline.

you should be able to know about these two ways if you want to secure your bitcoin wallets.

Tip #4 Common sense
This is probably the best tip I can give, always use your common sense before making your decision. If you buy, then know what or how you should be able to buy it safely, or even trading money. Never believe on too-good-to-be-true opportunities and lastly, always do a research about everything you haven't known yet. Bitcoin is very complex and requires you to keep on learning, avoiding to get scammed is part of it.

If you have any addition to these common tips i gave please let us know .Let's help each other especially those who are still new to this environment.

[neo444]

Also you can check any bitcoin site in the site of badbitcoin before you invest or work in it

[Tankdestroyer]

If you have any addition to these common tips i gave please let us know.

The tips are nice but I think there is an advice lacking in it. IMO, another tip you can give them is not following the hype most of the time since some newbies follow expert's views blindly. It might not make them lose all of their money but if they always listen to what the general public say about the market, then them losing a substantial amount of money from the mistakes they will make is very likely.

[richardson1128]

Bitcoin is a unique and trendy topic when it comes to mind especially when it comes to profits and earnings that many of us can get. Therefore many
newbies get interested and becomes prone to scammers. So here are some of the tips I learned from my friend that I wish to share:

Tip #1 Fake and imitation wallets and exchanges
To start with, as someone who is new to bitcoin you will have to deposit your money, right? Therefore you must exchange your $$$ to BTCBTCBTC. But how do we deposit w/out being scammed or hacked? Well, for me it's best to use the well-known exchanger. Here are some w/ their own pros and cons:

Coinbase
 + easy to use and set up, gdax is a friendly interface
 + seem to be fewer problems withdrawing money than other exchanges
 - tends to go down during traffic spikes
 - limited to BTC/ETH/LTC
 - randomly shutting down accounts/customer service

Poloniex
 + highest volume for many coin pairs
 - lots of complaints about withdrawing money
 - goes down periodically (went down for 3 days in August)

Bittrex
 + lots of currency pairs
 + reliable, never goes down
 - clunky interface

Kraken
 + seem to be fewer problems withdrawing
 - slow to get verified
 - very slow during peak traffic

Bitfinex
 + nice interface
 - seem to be withdrawing problems
 - customer service
 - no support for USA customers after October 2017

Gemini
 + low fees
 + available in more locations (Washington state, New York)
 - takes long time to register

Liqui
 + easy to use
 - can't withdraw fiat currency
 - seem to be problems withdrawing currency sometimes

Binance
 + good customer service
 + low transfer fees
 + gives gas for neo
 - slow under heavy load

Source: Reddit user lepuma.

Tip #2 Never trust anyone
Someone would probably chat you through various social media. Well, don't trust anyone, it's best to block them ASAP especially when they will teach you how to earn a lot easily. There's no easy money here. And lastly, don’t send money or bitcoin anywhere unless you know exactly who you’re sending it to.

Tip #3 Virus and malware downloads
This is the most common and the most easy way of hacking today when we download applications that contain malware and virus. As always, you shouldn’t click on unknown email attachments or potentially dangerous links.

But there are ways to secure your security even if you have downloaded malware/virus in your PC or phones.
-Use two-factor authentication
-Use a “cold” offline wallet. A “hot” wallet is one that’s connected to the Internet, while a “cold” wallet is one that’s held offline.

you should be able to know about these two ways if you want to secure your bitcoin wallets.

Tip #4 Common sense
This is probably the best tip I can give, always use your common sense before making your decision. If you buy, then know what or how you should be able to buy it safely, or even trading money. Never believe on too-good-to-be-true opportunities and lastly, always do a research about everything you haven't known yet. Bitcoin is very complex and requires you to keep on learning, avoiding to get scammed is part of it.

If you have any addition to these common tips i gave please let us know .Let's help each other especially those who are still new to this environment.

Good advice. I'll remember these tips from now on. I wish you can also post about earning using bitcoin, I know for sure that you already know some tips just as what you have said above.

[laborrdj]

This is one of the post that I see worth to be read. Good Job sir it will really help me as newbie in this investment.

[CryptRoller]

Good advice!
And when in doubt: ask here. I'm sure you will get some good advice here.
Maybe it's even better to always ask advice here when dealing with a new exchange...

[_bitbook]

As a newbie, I really appreciate this post! Clear, to the point, and with important information! Thank you! Now, which of all these is your preferred one?

[wvizmanos]

While your at it, may I request that you also create "How-to" instruction in depositing fiât to these exchanges, as the tips mentioned are somewhat in the middle of the process already. Thanks

[santosmichael]

Yes it is safer to transact from trusted or well-known exchangers

And you can see the other good exchanger lists from https://coinmarketcap.com too.

[jamesblue1]

If you have any addition to these common tips i gave please let us know.

The tips are nice but I think there is an advice lacking in it. IMO, another tip you can give them is not following the hype most of the time since some newbies follow expert's views blindly. It might not make them lose all of their money but if they always listen to what the general public say about the market, then them losing a substantial amount of money from the mistakes they will make is very likely.

Yeah ..thats a good suggestion too.

As a newbie, I really appreciate this post! Clear, to the point, and with important information! Thank you! Now, which of all these is your preferred one?

The best one FOR ME is coinbase. But if you prefer a safer storage ,then use an offline storage. There are lots of other exchangers that are good too, just that most of them have their own lapses just like coinbase.

While your at it, may I request that you also create "How-to" instruction in depositing fiât to these exchanges, as the tips mentioned are somewhat in the middle of the process already. Thanks

Thanks.. I will do it next time, I cant prepare them yet but I will.

Ok then, can you give advice please, which one from those exchange you preferred ?
Based on your own experience. I haven't tried yet those exchanger above, just binance and coinbase that I've ever tried

There is a link posted by one of more experienced in terms of exchanges in this post . It contains better and more precise exchangers as it is updated.

[Sofia234Edwards]

Take the time to explore the project and pay attention to the community value and practicality of the project. Thanks for the useful information for the newcomers.

[ToniJu]

Never trust anyone you know on the Internet, don't make any "preemptive payments, post-delivery transactions" on the Internet, and don't provide our private keys to anyone or the site. This is the best protection!

[theresaivy1]

Thank u for the advice but this bitcoin is still very complicated and I won't give up on it

[YamigaHyoushi]

This post is really helpful to me, though it' still somewhat complicated and I get confused sometimes. What about ETH light wallets like imToken? Is it safe?